IRANIAN LEADER TO UNVEIL NEW KARABAKH PROPOSALS – AZERI PAPER
Ayna, Baku
4 Aug 04
During the official visit to Azerbaijan by Iranian President Mohammad
Khatami, the Iranian government is expected to present Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev with its new proposal on a solution to the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.
According to information from diplomatic sources, Iran has drafted a
new plan and wants the talks to be held between Ankara, Tehran, Baku
and Yerevan. Details of the plan are kept secret.
At present, Iran wants to use the uncertainty surrounding the
settlement to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict to get what it has long
been waiting for. Iran has never come to terms with being “sidelined”
from the solution to the conflict and keeps reminding us of that.
During the recent visit to Iran by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, the sides discussed joint mediation in regional conflicts,
Iranian sources have reported. Therefore, it is noteworthy that Iran
has intensified its efforts with regard to the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict. During a meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov, his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharrazi said that Iran is
ready to help settle the Karabakh conflict. Kharrazi said that a
strong Azerbaijan is of special importance to Iran in this sensitive
region.
In the run-up to his visit to Azerbaijan, Khatami has made a new
statement. He said that Iran supports Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity and deems it essential that the occupied territories be
liberated peacefully. “Iran will do its best to resolve the conflict,”
he said.
(Passage omitted: Visit to Iran by Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan)
Political observers are dubious about Iran’s package of proposals on
the Karabakh conflict.
Iran’s efforts will be in vain, political analyst Zardust Alizada told
Ayna newspaper in an interview. Iran has limited ability to resolve
the conflict. “Iran’s clout in the region is not that strong. The
Iranian government’s mediatory efforts once ended in a
disaster. During the 1992 talks in Tehran, the Armenians, in tandem
with the Russians, invaded Susa. In doing so, Russia let Iran know
that it should not be involved in this issue.”
At present, the OSCE is mediating the talks, and Iran is not an OSCE
member. On the other hand, the military and economic potential of
Armenia and Azerbaijan is not linked with Iran, Alizada said.
Talking about the visit’s influence on mutual relations, Alizada
predicted that during the expected meeting, the two president will
resolve some issues which have yet to be agreed on.
The ex-foreign minister of Azerbaijan, Tofiq Zulfuqarov, told Ayna
that several years ago Iran asked the OSCE Minsk Group to include it
in the talks. “The Minsk Group then suggested that Iran be informed
about the developments in the talks process. To this end, Iran
appointed a special envoy who acts together with the Minsk Group.”
These contacts still remain, but there has been no specific result so
far, Zulfuqarov said.